Montreal to MLS: Non!

Montreal has pulled out of the bidding for the next round of MLS expansion.

Although we have yet to hear any word from the Montreal bid, they have never seemed fully committed to MLS from the get-go. Here's hoping that they know what they are doing because there is no guarantee that MLS is going to take another look at them, or that USL will remain a viable league (if its best markets keep jumping to MLS.

On the surface, this might be good news for Vancouver's bid. However. as I'ce said in this space before, don't outright dismiss the Ottawa bid. Don Garber had this to say about Ottawa today in his state of the league address:

Ottawa blew us away," Garber said. "They do give a very focused plan as to where they'd build the stadium. Their presentation was not just about how they were going to build the stadium but how they were going to build the sport."

In many ways the best thing for Canadian soccer would be for the Ottawa bid to pull the upset. That would give this country four pro teams instead of three.

There was no word on when the final announcement would be made on what two cities get in for 2011.